Well i was writing a some draft prologue for my fiction as test. In that fictional mc has ability to check alignments of people by paying certain amount of system point depending on the target. Then there is a problem that i faced for giving alignment to one specific character that important ti his story. Well she is leader of independent kingdom that receives tax from neighboring kingdoms for protecting the border against monster tide that happens in every season. But she is doing this not due some noble causes, she doing this because she is forced to guard that border and had no choice because she know on moment monsters breaks through her border the whole continent or even whole world will be fucked. She is coward, greedy, pathetic and hypocrite. She could run away if she can but knows there is no place to escape if whole world is got destroyed at same time her hatred for the monsters is something akin to what jews to hitler so in some way mc can trust her hatred/sorry for bad comparison/.Also even there is she refuse move from her ‘safe place’ that she controls and commands. So the protection money she receiving is her way of making use of her situation. And pay is enough she will lend her army to anyone under strict contracts. She will lie but never break her vow or contract even if she found that she being exploited thought that but she will try to go around it. She will use those protection money for her own self enjoyment but only after spending on improvements of her own kingdom and army and ones that signed on her contract. So what kind of alignment i should give her when mc checks her status ?
While I think categories like alignments are too restrictive, she sounds closest to a 'lawful neutral'. I should also add I have a very limited understanding of alignments, so do take it with a grain of salt.
My first answer would also be lawful neutral. She doesn't care about right or wrong, only self preservation, so she's neutral on the good vs evil spectrum (being selfish doesn't necessarily mean she's evil -- she'd have to be willing to do cruel things for personal benefit). She's principled enough to believe in honoring agreements, which I'd say makes her lawful.
Just don't then. Let her be evil-aligned one day, good aligned the other, like a normal person. Though she sounds good/neutral
And now you figured out why the alignment system sucks and why you shouldn't use it at all... People are too complex to be defined by two pairs of dualities.
Well, good luck with it then! ^^)/ Maybe you could actually make your MC realize the flaws of the system with time? Since it lacks nuance and stuff? Alternatively, you could maybe make things work on a spectrum? Like... Instead of it being a good/evil, chaotic/loyal, maybe make it more like a circular chart thingy? Something like... This, maybe? Dunno, just an idea. I just made this on the spot on Paint as a proof of concept kind of thingy~
Are you using DnD Alignments, or did you make your own? If you're using the common interpretation of DnD Alignments, Lawful Neutral is correct. She's likely not good due to being too selfish, while she's literally protecting the people of the continent against monsters, meaning that she's certainly not evil. She's both following and using the laws of the land to her advantage, meaning that she's definitely lawful. If you're using your own alignment format, you need to tell us what it is. I'm hoping for one with three categories, and more variance than "Yes, Sometimes, No" as options.
Yes I am using DnD alignments because it felt more straightforward with some variables that does makes sense